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Ben Wood is best known in China as the American architect behind Xintiandi, the Shanghai nightlife district developed by Hong Kong billionaire Vincent Lo’s Shui On Land. Wood also designed Shui On’s other Tiandis across China as well as the recently opened “The Hub” in Shanghai in the Hongqiao Transportation Hub. (See related story here.)

Wood, 68, is taking a step in a new direction on Sunday with the opening of a provocative exhibit called “The City of Humans” that highlight models of futuristic urban landscapes – for good or bad.

Technology changes but human beings don’t, Wood says. “For thousands of years, people lived in homes they build for themselves. Today, they do not. They live in cities designed by professionals and build by real estate developers. Sometimes, we get the cities they deserve, not the ones we need.” Futures cities, says MIT-educated Wood, will depend on what an informed public imagines them to be.

The exhibit is part of “Trans-Design 2016 – Shanghai Art and Design” that opens tomorrow at the West Bund Art Center and runs through March 15. Beatrice Leanza, Ben Hughes and Bu Bing are among other designers showing work.